Back to School with Chai Oatmeal Cookies

See that room up there? It's mine. I don't have to share with anyone except my dino pal in the back corner, Nom Chompsky. It's not that I don't like sharing (giving cookies away is one of my favorite things to do),  but I really, really need my own space to retreat to at the end of the day. Knowing that no one can enter my little sanctum without permission is simply glorious. 

In addition to my swoon worthy solace, the kitchen is the best I've experienced in my college dorm life. If you ignore the fact that it doesn't have any windows, it actually resembles a kitchen that could be in somebody's house (I'll get a picture up on the facebooks soon). I already made a batch of good ol' chocolate chip cookies to acquaint myself with the space. I've appointed myself as its unofficial keeper. Hopefully no one brings their drunken escapades in and desecrates it. 

 

So...cookies, yes? I tried to use tea infused butter in a recipe once before, and it didn't work awesomely.  This did. So much. Perhaps the difference was in using significantly more tea. And using an actual tea strainer instead of trying to use a slotted spoon. Stupid idea. Anyway, the chai definitely shines through: the smell hits you first, and the warm spices linger with each bite. Someone walked by and thought I was making an apple pie. I like that. Welcome to fall, everyone. 

Chai Oatmeal Cookies

adapted ever so slightly from BS' In the Kitchen

1 cup of butter
4 tbsp of chai loose leaf tea

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 375° F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large sauce pan, over medium heat, combine butter and tea. Let the butter and chai tea mingle under a low simmer for 10 minutes, until browned. Drain the chai from butter using either a french press coffee machine, a tea strainer or coffee filter. Let chai infused butter sit until it becomes solid again – do this at room temperature (okay, so I got totally tired of waiting and after I prepped all my ingredients and it was STILL a liquid, I just decided, meh, and used the liquid butter). 

Once the butter has become solid again, whip the butter and sugars together for two minutes, followed by the eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Drop cookies in rounded tablespoons on cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Take them out of the oven, let them sit for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Super Vegan Chai Brownies

(An apology in advance for the suckishness of these pictures. The lighting in the kitchen is terrible, and it never works out that I can bake in the morning when there's natural light. 

Transitioning back to school after a break is difficult. I've felt really stressy and unfocused this week, and when that happens, I want desperately to stress bake. 

I said stress bake, not stress eat, mind you. Unfortunately, I was lacking in eggs and butter and I DID NOT want to repeat the Choco Rice Nom Nom Slice. I just did a quick search for vegan baked goods, and came up with these vegan chai brownies. Yum. I found the recipe midweek and looked forward to making them so much. I squirmed through torturous studying while visions of brownies danced in my head (hrm...hope I did alright on my Japanese test, haha). 

Anyway, I had some horchata in my room, and decided it would be an excellent idea to brew the tea for the brownies in it. Awesome idea Rebecca. Everyone was impressed by their vegan-ness, but they really didn't require any fancy-ness like some vegan things do. 

These do not photograph well.

Vegan Chai Brownies

adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup very strongly brewed masala chai (in water, horchata, soy milk, rice milk...whatever you want)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray an 8x8 inch baking pan with cooking spray, and dust lightly with the 2 tablespoons cocoa powder.
2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the brewed chai, canola oil, and vanilla extract, just until all ingredients are moistened. If you so desire, add the tea leaves to your batter. I did, it upped the spicyness a lot. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is no longer shiny, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 1 hour before cutting (don't dooo ittt...eat them right away)